Backup Disaster Recovery (BDR) vs. Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
If you’ve researched how you can protect your business operations from critical network failure, you’ve probably come across terms like disaster recovery and business continuity. You may have even seen the two used seemingly interchangeable. While the two are related, there are some key differences in terms of scope and overall objectives. In this post, we’ll provide a quick overview of each and why they matter to your business.
Backup Disaster Recovery (BDR)
When we’re talking about backup disaster recovery (BDR), we’re referring to the systems and strategies your organization has deployed to keep your critical IT infrastructure up and running following a network outage. An effective BDR solution incorporates specific policies that outline concrete actions your team plans to take before, during, and after an unexpected event disrupts normal network operations. By ensuring that everyone knows his or her unique role following a disaster, you can restore critical network operations on a more efficient and predictable timeline.
Mission-Critical Continuity
The cornerstone of effective BDR planning is understanding your mission-critical operations. A BDR plan is all about restoring mission-critical network operations and data as quickly as possible following a disaster.
If your team relies on your cloud platform for project management, chances are things can fall apart fairly quickly following a network outage. That’s why an effective BDR policy would revolve around restoring access to your cloud environment as rapidly and cost effectively as possible.
When developing a disaster recovery strategy, the primary focus is on scope and timeline. What network resources does your team use every hour, every day, or every week? An effective BDR plan will primarily focus on these operations. What network functions do only a few teams rely on every few weeks? Restoring these less critical operations falls under the domain of business continuity planning.
Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
The focus of business continuity planning (BCP) is centered on plans and strategies to restore normal network operations to pre-disaster performance levels as though a disaster never happened. While BDR plans are built around restoring mission-critical functionality, BCP takes a bigger picture approach to restoring IT functions. A BCP strategy prioritizes less critical processes that are still part of your team’s standard workflows.
BDR timelines are typically measured over a span of minutes or hours. BCP, on the other hand, is generally measured in days or even weeks, depending on the severity of the disaster. So, while your BDR policies may focus on restoring cloud functionality, your BCP is more likely to focus on restoring network functionality like printing or scanning.
IT Support Springfield, MO
If you want to start doing more to protect your business by developing a BDR or a BCP plan, you need a team of expert network consultants who specialize in delivering customized services. That’s where PCNet can help. Contact our team today, and we’ll work with you to develop BDR and BCP strategies that are designed for your unique business operations.
